笪景行

On February 2， 1887， Groundhog Day， featuring a rodent2 meteorologist3， is celebrated for the first time at Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney， Pennsylvania. According to tradition， if a groundhog comes out of its hole on this day and sees its shadow， it gets scared and runs back into its burrow4， predicting six more weeks of winter weather; no shadow means an early spring.

1887年的2月2日，在賓夕法尼亞州龐斯塔維尼的火雞丘首次慶祝以嚙齒動物氣象學(xué)家為特色的土撥鼠節(jié)。根據(jù)傳統(tǒng)，如果土撥鼠在這一天從洞里出來看到了它自己的影子，它就會害怕，又躲回洞穴里，這預(yù)示著冬天還會持續(xù)六周;如果沒有影子則意味著春天將早早到來。

Groundhog Day has its roots in the ancient Christian tradition of Candlemas5， when clergy6 would bless and distribute candles needed for winter. The candles represented how long and cold the winter would be. Germans expanded on this concept by selecting an animal—the hedgehog7—as a means of predicting weather. Once they came to America， German settlers in Pennsylvania continued the tradition， although they switched from hedgehogs to groundhogs， which were plentiful in the Keystone State.

土撥鼠節(jié)起源于古基督教的圣燭節(jié)，那時神職人員會祝福并分發(fā)冬天需要的蠟燭。蠟燭表示冬天會有多寒冷和漫長。德國人擴(kuò)展了這一概念，選擇了一種動物——刺猬，作為預(yù)測天氣的手段。來到美國后，賓夕法尼亞州的德國移民們延續(xù)了這一傳統(tǒng)，但他們把刺猬換成了土撥鼠，而在基斯通州有非常多的土撥鼠。

Groundhogs， typically weigh 12 to 15 pounds and live six to eight years. They eat vegetables and fruits， whistle when theyre frightened or looking for a mate （theyre sometimes called whistle pigs） and can climb trees and swim.

土撥鼠，通常體重12至15磅，壽命6至8年。他們以蔬菜和水果為食，害怕的時候或者尋找伴侶的時候會吹口哨（有時它們被稱為“哨子豬”），還能爬樹和游泳。

They go into hibernation8 in the late fall; during this time， their body temperatures drop significantly， their heartbeats slow from 80 to five beats per minute and they can lose 30 percent of their body fat. In February， male groundhogs emerge9 from their burrows to look for a mate （not to predict the weather） before going underground again. They come out of hibernation for good in March.

它們在深秋開始冬眠，在此期間，他們的體溫明顯下降，心跳從每分鐘80次減慢到每分鐘5次，并且會減少30%的身體脂肪。二月份，雄性土撥鼠會從洞里出來尋找配偶（而不是為了預(yù)測天氣），然后再次潛入地下。它們在三月徹底從冬眠中醒來。

In 1887， a newspaper editor belonging to a group of groundhog hunters of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club from Punxsutawney declared that Phil， the Punxsutawney groundhog， was Americas only true weather-forecasting groundhog. The line of groundhogs that have since been known as Phil might be Americas most famous groundhogs， but other towns across North America now have their own weather-predicting rodents， from Birmingham Bill to Staten Island Chuck to Shubenacadie Sam in Canada.

1887年，龐斯塔維尼土撥鼠俱樂部的一群土撥鼠獵人們中有一位報紙編輯稱，龐斯塔維尼的土撥鼠菲爾，是美國唯一能真正預(yù)報天氣的土撥鼠。后來被稱為菲爾的土撥鼠們可能是美國最有名的土撥鼠，但是北美其他城鎮(zhèn)現(xiàn)在也有了各自預(yù)報天氣的嚙齒動物，比如伯明翰的比爾，斯塔頓島的查克，加拿大舒貝納卡迪的薩姆。

In 1993， the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray popularized the usage of “groundhog day”. Today， tens of thousands of people converge on Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney each February 2 to witness10 Phils prediction. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club hosts a three-day celebration featuring entertainment and activities.

1993年，由比爾·默里主演的電影《土撥鼠日》普及了“土撥鼠節(jié)”的說法。如今，每年的2月2日，有成千上萬的人聚集在龐斯塔維尼的火雞丘見證菲爾的預(yù)測。龐斯塔維尼土撥鼠俱樂部會舉辦為期三天的以娛樂活動為特色的慶?；顒?。